Obama Throws a Wrench in Pelosi's Stimulus Package?

The San Francisco speaker's House is in disarray and who's behind it all? President Obama! That's according to Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper. Mr. Cooper, who was one of the 11 Democrats to vote against Pelosi's pork-laden stimulus bill, said in a radio interview Monday that the White House actually encouraged him to oppose the bill.

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REP. JIM COOPER, D-TENN.: I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I actually got some quiet encouragement from the Obama folks for what I'm doing because they know it's a messy bill, and they wanted a clean bill.

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The leadership at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue was less than enthusiastic about his vote.

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COOPER: Now I got in terrible trouble with our leadership because they don't care what's in the bill, they just want it passed, and they want it to be unanimous.

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Just days removed from that interview, Mr. Cooper is changing his tune. According to Politico.com, he is now denying any such conversations with the administration took place. At one point, Cooper was rumored to be on the short list for Obama’s health secretary, but no longer appears to be under consideration. Maybe he paid all his taxes?

Is He Still Talking?

Despite the several snafus the administration has run into with its appointees, Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs is still trying to convince America that the president has set nothing but the highest ethical standards for his staff. His comical attempt is nothing but classic:

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ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As I said earlier, the president understands that changing the way Washington works is not a one or two or even a 15-day project.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: What? You didn't read the fine print? CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN* *No telling how long it could take us to actually make this change... assuming we can make the change at all... no guarantees, all votes are final.

GIBBS: It's something that encompasses work that he does and has to do each and every day as the president of the United States.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Work like trying to get the GOP to sign onto legislation that goes against everything they stand for... who knew that was going to be so hard? Heck we can't even get Pelosi to cooperate!

GIBBS: The president has set the highest ethical standards for this administration and has spoken often of an ethical responsibility that he expects all of us to meet.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Besides Geithner and Hillary and Holder, oh, and William Lynn and now Daschle and Killefer. Don't forget Richardson... EVERYONE he's nominated is completely ethical.

At least that's what our vetters tell us!

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Yeah, your vetters. That's exactly whose word you should be taking. They would never steer you wrong!

Chu on This!

A historic ice storm just took 55 lives and left half a million Kentucky residents without power, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu is issuing dire warnings about global warming.

Mr. Chu used his first interview in office to deliver some bad news to Californians. He told The Los Angeles Times that barring drastic measures, global warming could wipe out the state's farms and vineyards by the end of the century. According to Chu, "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen. We’re looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California."

As if that wasn't enough, Mr. Chu added, "I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going either."

And with that, Mr. Chu you may have surpassed our vanquished vice president to become the nation's leading global warming alarmist. If you get nothing else done in your tenure at the Department of Energy, that is certainly an accomplishment.

Litter? Leave It!

More news from the Golden State. A good Samaritan wants to clean up trash for free. What's the government's response? Thanks, but no thanks.

Mario Mendez lives along state Route 54, in a small town just outside San Diego. The Union Tribune reports that the stretch of highway near Mr. Mendez's home is covered in litter and he just wants to pick it up. But the do-gooder has hit an unexpected bump in the road.

Mendez is being told that before he can work on California roadways, even simply as a volunteer, he must apply and be accepted into the official Adopt-A-Highway program. He applied two months ago and still has yet to be approved because, due to legal reasons, the Department of Transportation has a statewide moratorium on all new entrants into the program, according to a district spokesman. The spokesman said, "We hate saying no to people offering to help." So why do you?